Motor control system



p 10, 1940- E. A. BINNEY ET AL MOTOR CONTROL SYSTEM Filed Sept. 7, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 bmg Bu &

Sept. 10, 1940- E. A. BINNEY ET AL MOTOR CONTROL SYSTEM Filed Sept. 7, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ORNa INVENTOR5 KNQ Wk ukmw WITNESSES: (247% 44/ Patented Sept. 10, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MOTOR CONTROL SYSTEM Eric Alton Binney, Ilkley, and Harold Sinclair Pound-Comer and Hugh Brougham Sedgiield, Bradford, England, assignors to The. English Electric Company, Limited, London, England, a company oi Great Britain Application September I, 1939, Serial No. 293,686 In Great Britain September 8, 1938 8 Claims. (Cl. 172-179) Our invention relates, generally, to motor conprises firstly the method of operating electric trol systems and, more particularly, to systems power equipment in whichadisconnecting switch, for controlling the operation of electric traction in series with the motor armature, is opened for motors. coasting and means responsive to the potential The external supply to an electric traction difference, hereinafter referred to as P. D. be- 5 system is liable to considerable fluctuations in tween two points in the motor armature circuit voltage. Accordingly, if the circuit through the automatically maintains the total back E. M. F. in traction motor armature from the external supthe motor armature circuit substantially equal ply be interrupted and subsequently reclosed and opposite to the P. D. of the power supply,

10 there may in the meantime be a substantial i. e. they automatically maintain substantially 10 change in the supply voltage. If the traction zero P.D. across the contacts of the disconnecting motor be shunt or compound wound or if it inswitch while it is open. The invention furthercludes any means of separate excitation and if more comprises, in combination, an electric it be coasting during disconnection from the supmotor,a switch for connecting the motor armature 1 ply, the motor will remain a back electromotive to and disconnecting it from a power supply and force, hereinafter referred to as E. M. F. but means adapted, in response to any change in this may vary considerably due to changes of the P. D. between two points in the motor armaspeed. Hence, we result of changes of supply ture circuit while the switch is open, to vary voltage or of back E. M. F. in the motor circuit the total back E. M. F. in that circuit in a sense it it follows that on reconnection of the motor to tending to maintain it substantially equal to the the supply for restoration of power conditions or voltage of the power supply, 1. e. tending to mainfor regenerative braking neither the magnitude tain substantially zero P. D. across the contacts nor the direction of the difference between the of the open switch. The said means may act by supply voltage and the total E. M. F. in the tracvarying an E. M. F. injected into the motor tlon motor circuit is certain. Consequently, there armature circuit, 1. e. they may act on the E. M. 25 may be momentary heavy currents and severe F. of abooster in series with an armature. Alterapplications of driving or braking torque on renatively they may act on the excitation of the connection. The same problem is encountered in' motor. other electric power equipment. An important feature of the invention is the so It is essential in electric traction equipment use of an exciter having a field winding carrying and possibly also with other electric power equipthe motor armature current or a shunted part ment to be able to coast, i. e. to allow a traction thereof and an opposing biasing field winding; or other working motor at times to continue to this exciter tends always to maintain such an run without receiving electric energy from or armature current that the effects of the two 5 giving up electric energy to the power supply. field windings balance each other. In utilizing 3 Again, there may be occasional interruptions of this exciter the biasing ileld winding is connected the circuit from the power supply through the across the contacts of the disconnecting switch. motor armature. The invention, although of general applica- It is the object of the present invention to tion, is particularly applicable to buck and boost 0 allow of coasting while reducing or eliminating equipment and is furthermore particularly apo risks of electrical disturbance on a return to replicable, firstly, to such equipment in which the generative or power conditions or to reduce or booster is so excited that it will automatically eliminate such risks on reclosure of a switch for maintain a substantially predetermined current interrupting the circuit from the supply through in the motor armature circuit and, secondly, to

the motor armature. such equipment for the automatic control of the The invention acts by balancing the total back acceleration and possibly also of the regenerative E. M. F. in the traction motor armature circuit braking of D. C. traction motors. Particular against the voltage of the power supply and autoforms of buck and boost equipment for acceleratmatically maintaining one substantially equal to ing and regeneratively braking traction motors at the other during coasting or whenever a disa predetermined current are described, for exconnecting switch is open. 1 ample, in the specifications accompanying the 00- There are two methods of coasting according pending applications, Serial Nos. 293,684 and to the invention, via: by interruption of the 293,685, filed September 7, 1939. When such armature circuit and without interruption, the equipment employs a difierential exciter for former being preferred. Thus the invention commaintaining the predetermined current this ex- 5 for voltage hulcnclng acit invention by connecting a cling on this EIlZCllJBl' across the itch. cost ermlpmeut, after the traclileen accelerated to its full voltl there y may be transferred Mternel power supply and the e to supply current to a motor sung. e booster will then be able to -re Tsscs: E. M F. in the motor arman the disconnecting switch is on the motor excitation. l u n furthermore comprises the secorl of operation mentioned above-W12. J3 uctherl of operating electric power equipin which the circuit through the motor e is never interrupted except when the substantially et a standstill, but coastuzgght about by automatic means adapted f. cl beck E. ML. F. of the traceture circuit substantially equal the P. D. of the power supply no curr flows through i cl is also valumost equipment of cl, as applied thereto, w lug automatic the current automati- 1e luventton, as euulpment for the cone shown in the eccom- 1 rural. wlruh ere dietlltrol systems embodying ouster comprises comconnecterl. between supply rcu eorth connection 3 and A excltcr ll curl the booster e connected shown in curl traction rectors r ml 2 and the slim has a field winch its armature in series exclter field windtlre booster ll and the motors field winning 55.

e cxclter is shown as conery 8 on the vehicle in 9 by means of which the to sure for transferring the action motors "wholly to the m closed when the moup to lull voltage, as rile the time the field wind- Lcotore, which windings l :rose the external power lon, can be transferred to uncut of switches 13 and shown for interrupting t through the traction mo- -.rl.tclcs lb and Ho are shown tendency is always to reduce the exciter E. M. F. to zero.

in any power or brake position. Switches II and 15a are in the positions shown when switch H is open With the booster set running but with switch I still open the current through field winding 5a is negligible. The exciter thus tends to malnout disturbance. The various switches l2-Il will usually be contactors, of which H is under the control of the driver's controller.

If the latter now be moved to a power notch erated current.

One method of coasting consists in moving the controller M. C. to a position in whlch the exto tend to maintain zero current in the traction motor armature circuit. This in fact consists in moving the controller M. C. to a. position in which If contact if it should be open for any other reason, the

the open contacts of switch I4, i. e. in series with the traction motors and booster across the supply. There will then be substantially no current fiowing through the exciter field winding 5a. The exciter will then influence the booster E. M. F. in such a manner as to tend to maintain zero current also in the exciter fieldwinding 5b, 1. e. so that there is no potential difi'erence across the contacts oi! switch I4. Any fluctuations in supply E. M. F. or any changes in motor back E. M. F. due to changes of vehicle speed will thus bring about corresponding changes in booster E. M. F. in such manner as to tend to maintain the E. M. F. in the motor and booster armature circuit substantially equal to the supply voltage so that switch I4 can be reclosed at any time without any appreciable electrical disturbance.

With the switches Il and Ila closed to connect the motors in parallel across the supply, with switch It open, with the exciter armature connections reversed and with switch II moved over to a position to connect the field windings Id and 'le across the booster l, the latter is able to infiuence the traction motor E. M. I". and current by acting upon by the motor excitation. Thus coasting can again be brought about by setting rheostat 8 to the zero current position. It now switch ll be open for coasting or any other purpose, the field winding Ib will again be connected across the contacts of switch II and the current through field winding 5a 01' the booster will be reduced almost to zero. The exciter will again act on the booster in a way tending to reduce the exciter E. M. F. to zero, 1. e. to reduce the current in field winding 5b substantially to zero and hence the booster will excite the traction motors in such manner as to tend to maintain the back E. M. F. of each equal to the E. M. F. of the power supply so that at any time the switch I4 can be reclosed without electrical disturbance.

In the foregoing system, the switch I4 has to be designed to carry the maximum total motor current. In the important modification shown in Fig. 2 an extra field winding is provided on the exciter tor the purpose of balancing traction motor and booster E. M. F.s against the supply voltage in order to eliminate the contactor I4. Those parts in Fig. 2 which are the same in Fig.

1 are indicated by the same reference numerals.

The additional field winding on the exciter 5 is indicated by the reference 5c and is adapted to be connected by the switch I3d across the contacts of the switch It when motors and booster are in series across the external supply or across the contacts of switch Ila when the motors are connected in parallel across the external supply. With the series connection coasting can be introduced by opening switch I6 when the action of the exciter will tend to maintain such a value of booster E., M. F. that the P. D. across the contacts of switch I6 is always substantially zero. With the parallel connection coasting can be introduced by opening switches I2 and Ila without closing switch I6. The exciter will then cause the booster to excite the motor I in such manner as to tend to maintain the P. D. across the contacts of switch Ila substantially zero. Motor lb is similarly excited and accordingly there will be a similar tendency to maintain zero P. D. across the contacts of switch Il. The switches I5 and Ila interrupt the circuit for the field winding Ib when the switches I6 and Ila are open so that it is not possible for both field windings lb and So to be energized at the same time.

In the event of a failure of the external supply the relay I8 disconnects the motor I from the supply lead 2 and causes opening 01' the contactor I9. It may also cause the contactor I 4 of Fig. 1 to open and the switches I5 and Ila to move to the position shown. On restoration of the supply and when the motor I has been again accelerated contactor I9 can be reclosed. The field winding 5b then tends to bring about the condition oi zero P. D. across switch I4 which can then be reclosed.

In the arrangement according to Fig. 2 the relay I8 may cause all the switches ll, Ila and I6 to be open, when field winding 5c tends, on a restoration of supply, to bring about the condition of zero P. D. across the switch It or the switch Ila.

It the field winding So be omitted as well as the connection of winding 5b across switch I the equipment must be operated so that the circuit of the traction motors is never broken while they are running. Once the booster E. M. F. has been adjusted to be equal and opposite to the supply voltage and switch I6 has been closed to start the motors, the latter remains closed until the switches I2 and Ila close, recloses before they open, and remains closed thereafter until the motors have been brought substantially to rest. These switches remain closed when switch I9 opens in response to opening of the no-current relay II and so the circuit of the motors is uninterrupted, for, as will be seen, the machine I and the motors I and lb form a closed circuit. With this modification contactsnot shown-cause field winding 5b 01' the exciter to be deenergized while switch I9 is open. On restoration of the supply the action of the exciter thus tends to maintain zero current through the traction motor armatures by keeping the total back E. M. F. in the circuit equal and opposite to the P. D. of the supply. When the motor I has again run up to speed the switch I! can be reclosed without causing disturbance in the traction motor circuit and the field winding It) becomes energized again ror maintaining the appropriate current.

The transfer switches I2 and Ila are preferably contactors operated automatically under the control of a polarized relay R responsive to zero P. D. across one of them, as described inv our aforementioned copending application, Serial No. 293,685. The same relay R may control the contactor iii.

The application of the invention to a system which is not a buck and boost system can be clearly seen from the drawings by assuming switch I6 to be permanently open, i. e. completely omitted. Switches I2 and Ila are then for connecting motors l and lb, etc., in parallel across the power supply. Starting resistances and the usual starting means are provided for these motors. Machine 6 is then merely an exciter for the motors, the field windings 1d and 1c being permanently connected thereto. If field winding 5c is provided it is connected permanently across switch or contactor Ila. It will be seen that the combination of exciter 6 and subexciter 5 functions, as described, to maintain substantially zero P. D. across any disconnecting switch that is open, or to bring about coasting by exciting the motors so that the back E. M. F. of each is substantially equal and opposite to the voltage of the power supply.

Any of the arrangements described are applicable to the control oi a single motor.

Since many modifications may be made in the appara us and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of our invention, we do not wish to be limited other than by the scope of the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. in a motor control system, in combination, an electric motor, a switch for connecting the motor armature to and disconnecting it from power supply, a buck-boost machine in series with the motor armature, and excitation means responsive to a change in the potential difference across the contacts of said switch while the switch is open for controlling the excitation and hence the electromotive force of the buck-boost machine to maintain the total back electromotive force in said circuit substantially equal to the voltage of the power supply, thereby maintaining substantially zero potential difierence across the open contacts of the switch.

2. In a motor control system, in combination, an electric motor, a switch for connecting the motor armature to and disconnecting it from a power supply, a booster, means for connecting the booster in series with the motor across the power supply for operation on the buck and boost principle, switching means for transferring the load formed by the motor armature wholly to the said power supply and back again, additional switching means for connecting the booster as an exciter for the motor, and means responsive to a change in the potential difference between two points in the interrupted motor armature circuit while the switch is open for controlling the booster excitation both when it is in series with the motor armature and when it servin as an exciter for the motor to maintain the total bacl: electromotive force in said circuit substantially equal to the voltage of the power supply, thereby maintaining substantially zero potential difference across the open contacts of the switch.

in a motor control system, in combination, an electric motor, a switch for connecting the motor armature to and disconnecting it from a power supply, a booster, means for connecting the booster in series with the motor across the power supply for operation on the buck and boost principle, an exciter, a field winding thereon enersized by the motor armature current, an opposing field winding on the exciter, and means for connecting the latter Winding across the contacts of the disconnecting switch, said exciter acting on the excitation of the booster to maintain a balance between the opposing field windings, thereby maintaining substantially zero potential difference across the open contacts of the switch.

l. In a motor control system, in combination, an electric motor, a switch for connecting the motor armature to and disconnecting it from a power supply, a booster, means for connecting the booster in series with the motor across the power supply for operation on the buck and boost principle, a differentially wound exciter for the booster adapted to maintain a predetermined motor armature current when the disconnecting switch is closed and substantially zero potential difference across the switch when it is open, said enciter having a field winding energized by the motor armature current and an opposing field winding, and means for varying the excitation of said opposing winding to control the motor armature current.

5. In a motor control system, in combination,

an electric motor, a switch for connecting the motor armature to and disconnecting it from a power supply, a booster, means for connecting the booster in series with the motor across the power supply for operation on the buck and boos; principle, a differentially wound exciter for the booster adapted to maintain a predetermined motor armature current when the disconnecting switch is closed and substantially zero potential difference across the switch when it is open, a field winding on the said exciter energized by the motor armature current, an opposing field winding on the exciter, and means for disconnecting the latter winding from its normal supply and connecting it across the disconnecting switch when said switch is open, the exciter acting on the booster excitation to maintain a balance between the field windings that oppose each other.

6. In a motor control system, in combination, an electric motor, a switch for connecting the motor armature to and disconnecting it from a power supply, a booster. means for connecting the booster in series with the motor across the power supply for operation on the buck and boost principle, a differentially wound exciter for the booster adapted to maintain a predetermined motor armature current when the disconnecting switch is closed and substantially zero potential difference across the switch when it is open, a. field winding on the said exciter energized by the motor armature current, an opposing field winding on the exciter, means for disconnecting the latter winding from its normal supply, an additional opposing field winding on the exclter, and means for connecting said additional winding across the disconnecting switch when said switch is open, the exciter acting on the booster excitation to maintain a balance between the field windings that oppose each other.

'7. In a motor control system, in combination, an electric motor, a switch for connecting the motor armature to and disconnecting it from a power supply, a booster, means for connecting the booster in series with the motor across the power supply for operation on the buck and boost principle, a differentially wound exciter for the booster adapted to maintain a predetermined motor armature current when the disconnecting switch is closed and substantially zero potential difierence across the switch when it is open, a field winding on the said exciter energized by the motor armature current, an opposing field winding on the exciter, means for disconnecting the latter winding from its normal supply, an additional opposing field winding on the exciter, means for connecting said additional winding across the disconnecting switch when said switch isopen, the exciter acting on the booster excitation to maintain a balance between the field windings that oppose each other, and means for preventing the simultaneous energization of the latter two field windings on the exciter.

8. In a motor control system, in combination, an electric motor, a switch for connecting the motor armature to and disconnecting it from a power supply, a booster, means for connecting the booster in series with the motor across the power supply for operation on the buck and boost principle, switching means for transferring the load formed by the motor armature wholly to the said power supply and back again, said booster functioning to maintain automatically a predetermined motor armature current, an exciter for the booster, a field winding thereon energized by the motor armature current, an opposing field winding on the exciter, means (or energizing this winding, an additional opposing field winding on the exciter, changeover switching means for connecting this latter windingeither across the disconnecting switch which interrupts the series connection 01 motor and booster or across one of the transfer switches, and means for deenergizing the first-named op- 

